Table 1.
Characteristics of cirrhotic patients with and without minimal hepatic encephalopathy
| Total (n = 210) |
MHE (n = 37) |
Non-MHE (n = 173) |
P value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years | 62.7 ± 9.6 | 67.4 ± 8.0 | 61.7 ± 9.6 | 0.001 |
| Female, n (%) | 90 (42.9) | 20 (54.1) | 70 (40.5) | 0.130 |
| Education level, n (%) | 0.007 | |||
| Primary school | 63 (30.0) | 19 (51.4) | 44 (25.4) | |
| High school | 82 (39.0) | 11 (29.7) | 71 (41.0) | |
| University | 65 (31.0) | 7 (18.9) | 58 (33.5) | |
| Etiology of cirrhosis, n (%) | 0.105 | |||
| Hepatitis B virus | 90 (42.9) | 13 (35.1) | 77 (44.5) | |
| Hepatitis C virus | 75 (35.7) | 13 (35.1) | 62 (35.8) | |
| Alcohol | 13 (6.2) | 2 (5.4) | 11 (6.4) | |
| MASLD | 12 (5.7) | 4 (10.8) | 8 (4.6) | |
| Autoimmune liver disease | 14 (6.7) | 5 (13.5) | 9 (5.2) | |
| Others | 6 (2.9) | 0 (0) | 6 (3.5) | |
| Comorbidity, n (%) | ||||
| Type 2 diabetes mellitus | 72 (34.3) | 13 (35.1) | 59 (34.1) | 0.905 |
| Hypertension | 114 (54.3) | 16 (43.2) | 98 (56.6) | 0.138 |
| Hypercholesterolemia | 75 (35.7) | 11 (29.7) | 64 (37.0) | 0.404 |
| Chronic pulmonary disease | 10 (4.8) | 2 (5.4) | 8 (4.6) | 0.840 |
| Thyroid disease | 17 (8.1) | 6 (16.2) | 11 (6.4) | 0.047 |
| Extrahepatic malignancy | 16 (7.6) | 2 (5.4) | 14 (8.1) | 0.577 |
| Hepatocellular carcinoma | 101 (48.1) | 29 (53.7) | 72 (46.2) | 0.340 |
| History of decompensation†, n (%) | ||||
| Ascites | 28 (13.3) | 7 (18.9) | 21 (12.1) | 0.272 |
| Overt hepatic encephalopathy | 6 (2.9) | 3 (8.1) | 3 (1.7) | 0.035 |
| Variceal hemorrhage | 61 (29.0) | 19 (51.4) | 42 (24.3) | 0.001 |
| Medication use | ||||
| Nonselective beta-blockers | 46 (21.9) | 9 (24.3) | 37 (21.4) | 0.696 |
| Diuretics | 14 (6.7) | 2 (5.4) | 12 (6.9) | 0.735 |
| Statins | 70 (33.3) | 11 (29.7) | 59 (34.1) | 0.609 |
| Anthropometry data | ||||
| BMI, kg/m2 | 26.1 ± 5.0 | 25.8 ± 4.4 | 26.2 ± 5.1 | 0.668 |
| Waist circumference, cm | 91.4 ± 12.9 | 90.9 ± 11.1 | 91.5 ± 13.3 | 0.813 |
| Hip circumference, cm | 98.6 ± 10.4 | 98.6 ± 9.3 | 98.6 ± 10.7 | 0.994 |
| Body fat, kg | 24.7 ± 9.9 | 24.6 ± 8.0 | 24.8 ± 10.3 | 0.909 |
| Visceral fat level | 11.7 ± 4.9 | 12.2 ± 4.6 | 11.6 ± 4.9 | 0.520 |
| Muscle mass, kg | 23.3 ± 5.4 | 21.4 ± 5.1 | 23.7 ± 5.4 | 0.016 |
| Appendicular skeletal muscle, kg | 18.3 ± 4.7 | 16.6 ± 4.6 | 18.6 ± 4.7 | 0.018 |
| Skeletal muscle index, kg/m2 | 6.9 ± 1.2 | 6.5 ± 1.2 | 7.0 ± 1.2 | 0.030 |
| Laboratory data | ||||
| Hemoglobin, g/dl | 13.1 ± 1.8 | 12.8 ± 1.6 | 13.1 ± 1.9 | 0.364 |
| Leukocyte, cell/mm | 5,584 ± 1,750 | 4,927 ± 1,674 | 5,739 ± 1,737 | 0.012 |
| Platelet, 106 cell/mm3 | 147 ± 66 | 126 ± 59 | 152 ± 66 | 0.028 |
| Aspartate aminotransferase, U/L | 39 ± 23 | 43 ± 26 | 38 ± 22 | 0.283 |
| Alanine aminotransferase, U/L | 29 ± 17 | 26 ± 15 | 29 ± 17 | 0.283 |
| Gamma-glutamyltransferase, U/L | 48 (29–75) | 51 (21–82) | 45 (30–74) | 0.869 |
| Total bilirubin, mg/dl | 0.7 (0.5–1.1) | 0.9 (0.6–1.3) | 0.7 (0.5-1.0) | 0.045 |
| Albumin, g/dl | 4.1 ± 0.5 | 3.9 ± 0.5 | 4.1 ± 0.5 | 0.026 |
| Globulin, g/dl | 3.7 ± 0.6 | 4.0 ± 0.7 | 3.7 ± 0.6 | 0.029 |
| INR | 1.13 ± 0.13 | 1.16 ± 0.13 | 1.12 ± 0.13 | 0.181 |
| Creatinine, mg/dl | 0.94 ± 0.27 | 0.92 ± 0.27 | 0.94 ± 0.27 | 0.704 |
| Sodium, mEq/L | 139.0 ± 2.7 | 139.2 ± 3.4 | 138.9 ± 2.6 | 0.661 |
| Potassium, mEq/L | 4.2 ± 0.4 | 4.3 ± 0.5 | 4.2 ± 0.4 | 0.461 |
| MELD score | 9.0 ± 2.6 | 9.3 ± 2.3 | 8.9 ± 2.6 | 0.376 |
| CTP score | 5.3 ± 0.6 | 5.1 ± 0.3 | 5.2 ± 0.6 | 0.212 |
| Liver stiffness, kPa | 17.0 (8.1–30.9) | 26.7 (8.6–35.2) | 16.2 (8.1–29.4) | 0.234 |
Abbreviations: CTP, Child-Turcotte-Pugh; INR, international normalized ratio; MASLD, Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease; MELD, Model for End-Stage Liver Disease; MHE, minimal hepatic encephalopathy
†History of decompensation events occurring more than three months prior to the inclusion period